Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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DESCRIPTION
RECORDING MEDIUM HAVING DATA STRUCTURE FOR
MANAGING REPRODUCTION OF VIDEO DATA RECORDED
THEREON
1. TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to a recording medium having
a data structure for managing reproduction of at least video data
recorded thereon as well as methods and apparatuses for
reproduction and recording.
2. BACKGROUND ART
The standardization of new high-density read only and
rewritable optical disks capable of recording large amounts of
high-quality video and audio data has been progressing rapidly and
new optical disk related products are expected to be commercially
available on the market in the near future. The Blu-ray Disc
Rewritable (BD-RW) is one example of these new optical disks.
FIG. 1 illustrates the file structure of the BD-RW. The file
structure or data structure provides for managing the reproduction
of the video and audio data recorded on the BD-RW. As shown, the
data structure includes a root directory that contains at least one
BDAV directory. The BDAV directory includes files such as
'info.bdav', 'menu.tidx', and 'mark.tidx', a PLAYLIST subdirectory
in which playlist files (*.rpls and *.vpls) are stored, a CLIPINF
subdirectory in which clip information files (*.clpi) are stored,
and a STREAM subdirectory in which MPEG2-formatted A/V stream clip
files (*.m2ts) corresponding to the clip information files are
stored. In addition to illustrating the data structure of the
optical disk, FIG. 1 represents the areas of the optical disk. For
example, the general information file info.dvr is stored in a
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general information area or areas on the optical disk.
Because the BD-RW data structure and disk format as
illustrated in FIG. 1 is well-known and readily available, only a
brief overview of the file structure will be provided in this
disclosure.
As alluded to above, the STREAM directory includes
MPEG2-formatted A/V stream files called clips. The STREAM directory
may also include a special type of clip referred to as a bridge-clip
AN stream file. A bridge-clip is used for making seamless
connection between two or more presentation intervals selected in
the clips, and generally have a small data size compared to the
clips.
The CLIPINF directory includes a clip information file
associated with each A/V stream file. The clip information file
indicates, among other things, the type of A/V stream associated
therewith, number of source packets in the A/V stream associated
therewith, and timing information of the source packets in the A/V
stream associated therewith (e.g., on an arrival time basis (ATC)
and/or a system time basis (STC)).
The PLAYLIST directory includes one or more playlist files.
The concept of a playlist has been introduced to promote ease of
editing/assembling clips for playback. A playlist file is a
collection of playing intervals in the clips. Each playing interval
is referred to as a playitem. The playlist file, among other things,
identifies each playitem forming the playlist, and each playitem,
among other things, is a pair of IN-point and OUT-point that point
to positions on a time axis of the clip (e.g., ATC or STC basis).
Expressed another way, the playlist file identifies playitems, each
playitem points to a clip or portion thereof and identifies the clip
file associated with the clip.
A playlist directory may include real playlist (*.rpls) and
virtual playlists (* . vpls) . A real playlist can only use clips and
not bridge-clips. Namely, the real playlist is considered as
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referring to parts of clips, and therefore, conceptually considered equivalent
in disk
space to the referred to parts of the clips. A virtual playlist can use both
clips and
bridge-clips, and therefore, the conceptual considerations of a real playlist
do not
exist with virtual playlists.
The info. bdav file is a general information file that provide general
information for managing the reproduction of the AN stream recorded on the
optical
disk. More specifically, the info. bdav file includes, among other things, a
table of
playlists that identifies the files names of the playlist in the PLAYLIST
directory of
the same BDAV directory.
The menu. tidx, menu. tdtl and menu. tdt2 files store information related to
menu thumbnails. The mark. tidx, mark. tdtl and mark. tdt2 files store
information
that relates to mark thumbnails. Because these files are not particularly
relevant to
the present invention, they will not be discussed further.
The standardization for high-density read-only optical disks such as the Blu-
ray ROM (BD-ROM) is still under way. An effective data structure for managing
reproduction of video and audio data recorded on the high-density read-only
optical
disk such as a BD-ROM is not yet available.
3. DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION
According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided an optical
disc having computer code for executions by a computer processor, for causing
a
data structure to be used for managing reproduction of video data having
multiple
reproduction paths, the optical disc comprising:
a general information file including,
first information for reproducing a unit of the video data using a first
identifier
identifying a playlist file, the unit of the video data being identified by
the playlist file,
and
second information for reproducing a title unit of the video data using a
second identifier identifying the title unit of the video data;
the playlist file being stored as a separate file from the general information
file,
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the playlist file including:
at least one playitem including a pair of in time and out time information
identifying a playing interval in the video data, and information identifying
a
reproduction path of the multiple reproduction paths, and
mark information including a first field indicating a number of playlist marks
in
the playlist file and a second field indicating a type of playlist mark in the
playlist file;
a clip information file including timing information of the video data; and
a stream file including the video data.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a
method of recording a data structure for managing reproduction of video data
having multiple reproduction paths on a recording medium, the method
comprising:
recording, with a recording apparatus, a general information file on the
recording medium, the general information file including,
first information for reproducing a unit of the video data using a first
identifier
identifying a playlist file, the unit of the video data identified by the
playlist file, and
second information for reproducing a title unit of the video data using a
second identifier identifying the title unit of the video data;
recording, with the recording apparatus, the playlist file as a separate file
from
the general information file on the recording medium, the playlist file
including,
at least one playitem including a pair of in time and out time information
identifying a playing interval in the video data and information identifying a
reproduction path of the multiple reproduction paths, and
mark information including a first field indicating a number of playlist marks
in
the playlist file and a second field indicating a type of playlist mark in the
playlist file;
recording, with the recording apparatus, a clip information file including
timing
information of the video data on the recording medium; and
recording, with the recording apparatus, a stream file including the video
data on
the recording medium.
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According to yet another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a
method of reproducing a data structure for managing reproduction of video data
having multiple reproduction paths from a recording medium, the method
comprising:
reading a general information file from the recording medium, the general
information file including,
first information for reproducing a unit of the video data using a first
identifier
identifying a playlist file, the unit of the video data identified by the
playlist file, and
second information for reproducing a title unit of the video data using a
to second identifier identifying the title unit of the video data;
reading the playlist file from the recording medium, the playlist file being
stored
as a separate file from the general information file and including,
at least one playitem including a pair of in time and out time information
identifying a playing interval in the video data and information identifying a
reproduction path of the multiple reproduction paths, and
mark information including a first field indicating a number of playlist marks
in
the playlist file and a second field indicating a type of playlist mark in the
playlist file;
reading a clip information file including timing information of the video data
from
the recording medium; and
20 reproducing a stream file including the video data from the recording
medium.
According to yet another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an
apparatus for recording a data structure for managing reproduction of video
data
having multiple reproduction paths on a recording medium, the apparatus
comprising:
an optical recording device configured to record data on the recording medium;
and
a controller, operably coupled to the optical recording device, configured to
control the optical recording device to,
record a general information file on the recording medium, the general
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information file including,
first information for reproducing a unit of the video data using a first
identifier identifying a playlist file, the unit of the video data identified
by the
playlist file, and
second information for reproducing a title unit of the video data using a
second identifier identifying the title unit of the video data;
record the playlist file as a separate file from the general information file
on
the recording medium, the playlist file including,
at least one playitem including a pair of in time and out time information
identifying a playing interval in the video data and information identifying a
reproduction path of the multiple reproduction paths, and
mark information including a first field indicating a number of playlist
marks in the playlist file and a second field indicating a type of playlist
mark in
the playlist file;
record a clip information file including timing information of the video data
on
the recording medium, and
record a stream file including the video data on the recording medium.
According to yet another aspect of the present invention, there is provided
an apparatus for reproducing a data structure for managing reproduction of
video
data having multiple reproduction paths from a recording medium, the apparatus
comprising:
an optical reproducing device configured to reproduce data recorded on the
recording medium; and
a controller, operably coupled to the optical reproducing device, configured
to
control the optical reproducing device to,
read a general information file from the recording medium, the general
information file including,
first information for reproducing a unit of the video data using a first
identifier identifying a playlist file, the unit of the video data identified
by the
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playlist file, and
second information for reproducing a title unit of the video data using a
second identifier identifying the title unit of the video data,
read the playlist file from the recording medium, the playlist file being
stored
as a separate file from the general information file and including,
at least one playitem including a pair of in time and out time information
identifying a playing interval in the video data and information identifying a
reproduction path of the multiple reproduction paths, and
mark information including a first field indicating a number of playlist
marks in the playlist file and a second field indicating a type of playlist
mark in
the playlist file;
read a clip information file including timing information of the video data
from
the recording medium, and
reproduce a stream file including the video data from the recording medium.
The present invention provides a recording medium having a file or data
structure. that permits managing the reproduction of video data on a title,
chapter,
and or multiple reproduction path basis. Accordingly, the present invention
provides
a greater level of flexibility in the reproduction of video data than
previously
available.
4. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
The above and other objects, features and other advantages of the present
invention will be more clearly understood from the following detailed
description
taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 illustrates the prior art file or data structure of a rewritable
optical disk
according to the Blu-ray Disc Rewritable (BD-RW) standard;
FIGs. 2 to 5 illustrate a first embodiment of a recording
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medium having a data or file structure for managing reproduction
of at least video data in accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 6 illustrates a schematic diagram of an embodiment of
an optical disk recording and reproduction apparatus of the present
invention;
FIGs. 7 to 9 illustrate a second embodiment of a recording
medium having a data or file structure for managing reproduction
of at least video data in accordance with the present invention;
and
FIG. 10 illustrates an example of a recording medium having
the data structure of FIG. 3 stored thereon.
5. MODES FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
In order that the invention may be fully understood, preferred
embodiments thereof will now be described with reference to the
accompanying drawings.
A high-density optical disk, for example, a Blu-Ray ROM
(BD-ROM) in accordance with the invention may have a file or data
structure for managing reproduction of video and audio data as shown
in FIG. 2. Many aspects of the data structure according to the
present invention shown in FIG. 2 are similar to that of the BD-RW
standard discussed with respect to Fig 1. As such these aspects will
not be described in great detail.
As shown in FIG. 2, the root directory contains at least one
DVP directory. The DVP directory includes a general information
file ' info. dvp' , a PLAYLIST directory in which playlist files (e. g.,
real (*. rpls) and virtual (*. vpl s) ) are stored, a CLIPINF directory
in which clip information files (*.clpi) are stored, and a STREAM
directory in which MPEG2-formatted A/V stream clip files (*.m2ts)
corresponding to the clip information files are stored.
The STREAM directory includes MPEG2-formatted AN stream
files called clips. The STREAM directory may also include a special
type of clip referred to as a bridge-clip A/V stream file. A
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bridge-clip is used for making seamless connection between two or
more presentation intervals selected in the clips, and generally
have a small data size compared to the clips.
The CLIPINF directory includes a clip information file
associated with each A/V stream file. The clip information file
indicates, among other things, the type of A/V stream associated
therewith, number of source packets in the A/V stream associated
therewith, and timing information of the source packets in the A/V
stream associated therewith (e.g., on an arrival time basis (ATC)
and/or a system time basis (STC)).
The PLAYLIST directory includes one or more playlist files.
The concept of a playlist has been introduced to promote ease of
editing/assembling clips for playback. A playlist file is a
collection of playing intervals in the clips. Each playing interval
is referred to as a playitem. The playlist file, among other things,
identifies each playitem forming the playlist, and each playitem,
among other things, is a pair of IN-point and OUT-point that point
to positions on a time axis of the clip (e.g., ATC or STC basis).
Expressed another way, the playlist file identifies playitems, each
playitem points to a clip or portion thereof and identifies the clip
file associated with the clip.
A playlist directory may include real playlist (*.rpls) and
virtual playlists (* . vpls) . A real playlist can only use clips and
not bridge-clips. Namely, the real playlist is considered as
referring to parts of clips, and therefore, conceptually considered
equivalent in disk space to the referred to parts of the clips. A
virtual playlist can use both clips and bridge-clips, and therefore,
the conceptual considerations of a real playlist do not exist with
virtual playlists.
The info.dvp file is a general information file that provide
general information for managing the reproduction of the A/V stream
recorded on the optical disk. More specifically, the info.bdav file
includes, among other things, a table of playlists that identifies
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the files names of the playlist in the PLAYLIST directory of the
same DVP directory. The info.dvp file will be discussed in greater
detail below with respect to the embodiments of the present
invention.
In addition to illustrating the data structure of the
recording medium according to an embodiment of the present
invention, FIG. 2 represents the areas of the recording medium. For
example, the general information file is recorded in one or more
general information areas, the playlist directory is recorded in
one or more playlist directory areas, each playlist in a playlist
directory is recorded in one or more playlist areas of the recording
medium, etc. FIG. 10 illustrates an example of a recording medium
having the data structure of FIG. 3 stored thereon. As shown, the
recording medium includes a file system information area, a data
base area and an A/V stream area. The data base area includes a
general information file and playlist information area and a clip
information area. The general information file and playlist area
have the general information file recorded in a general information
file area thereof, and the PLAYLIST directory and playlist files
recorded in a playlist information area thereof. The clip
information area has the CLIPINFO directory and associated clip
information files recorded therein. The A/V stream area has the A/V
streams for the various titles recorded therein.
Video and audio data are typically organized as individual
titles; for example, different movies represented by the video and
audio data are organized as different titles. Furthermore, a title
may be organized into individual chapters in much the same way a
book is often organized into chapters.
As shown in FIG.. 2, and as will be described in greater detail
below with respect to FIGs. 3-5, the general information file
info.dvp includes title management information for managing
reproduction of the video and audio data by title and the playlists
include chapter management information for managing reproduction
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of a title by chapters.
Because of the large storage capacity of the newer,
high-density recording media such as BD-ROM optical disks, various
versions of a title or portions of a title may be recorded, and
therefore, reproduced from the recording media. For example, video
data representing different camera angles may be recorded on the
recording medium. Or, an adult version, young adult version and
young child version (i.e., different parental control versions) of
a title or portions of a title may be recorded on the recording
medium. Each version represents a different reproduction path, and
the video data in these instances is referred to as multiple
reproduction path video data. It will be appreciated that camera
angle and parental control versions are but two examples of multiple
reproduction path video data, and the present invention is
applicable to any type or combination of types of multiple
reproduction path video data. As will be described in detail below
with respect to FIGs. 2-5, in an embodiment of the present invention,
each playlist file includes path management information for
managing reproduction of multiple reproduction path video data
recorded on the recording medium.
According to a first embodiment of the present invention, as
illustrated in FIG. 2, each title may be associated with a single
playlist in the PLAYLIST directory and each chapter in a title may
be linked with at least one playitem included in a playlist.
In the example of FIG. 2, the first and the second playitems
among playitems included in the first playlist `PlayList 1' refer
to the first chapter, the third to the sixth playitems refer to the
second chapter, and the seventh and the eight playitems refer to
the third chapter. Also, FIG. 2 shows a first production path is
indicated by the odd playitems `PlayItem 1, 3, 5, 7' and a second
reproduction path is indicated by the even playitems `PlayItem 2,
4, 6, 8' . This is merely an example, and is not limiting on the path
structure permitted by the present invention.
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FIG. 3 illustrates a portion of the general information file
info.dvp according to an embodiment of the present invention in
greater detail. As shown, the general information file info.dvp
includes an information field called 'TableOfPlaylists'. The
playlist table 'TableOfPlaylists' indicates the length of the
information field, and the number playlists in the DVP directory.
For each playlist, the playlist table 'TableOfPlaylists' indicates
the file name 'P1ayList_file_name' of the playlist (which
identifies the playlist) and title management information
associated with the playlist. Specifically, the title management
information is a title entry flag 'Title_entry_flag', which
indicates whether the playlist is the start of a title. In the
exemplary embodiment of FIG. 2 where each title is associated with
a single playlist, the title entry flag 'Title-entry-flag' is set
for each playlist. However, it will be understood that the present
invention is not limited to this embodiment.
The title management information also includes a title entry
table `TitleEntryTable' forming a portion of the general
information file ' info. dvp' as shown in FIG. 4. As shown, the title
entry table indicates the length of this information field,
indicates the number of titles 'number-of-Titles', and for each
title, indicates the filenames of the first playlist
`Entry PlayList file name' associated with the title. In an
alternate embodiment, the title entry table is written in a file
separate from the general information file `info.dvp'.
The chapter management information, which is used for
selectively referring to a chapter of each title, is written in a
corresponding playlist file structured as shown in FIG. 5. FIG.
5 also shows an exemplary embodiment where path management
information, which is used for managing the reproduction of
multiple reproduction path video data of a title, is written in the
playlist file.
As shown, each playlist file indicates a length of the file,
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and the number of playitems `number_of_PlayItems' forming the
playlist. For each playitem, a playitem information field is
provided in the playlist file. Here each playitem is identified
by the number of the playitem. As shown in FIG. 5, the playitem
information field includes, in part, an indication of the field's
length, a chapter entry flag 'Chapter entry flag' and a path number
'Path-number'. The chapter entry flag `Chapter_entry_flag'
provides chapter management information by indicating whether the
associated playitem is the start of a chapter. The path number
`Path number' provides the path management information by
indicating the path or paths to which the associated playitem
belongs.
FIG. 6 illustrates a schematic diagram of an embodiment of
an optical disk recording and reproducing apparatus according to
the present invention. As shown, an AV encoder 9 receives and
encodes audio and video data. The AV encoder 9 outputs the encoded
audio and video data along with coding information and stream
attribute information. A multiplexer 8 multiplexes the encoded
audio and video data based on the coding information and stream
'attribute information to create, for example, an MPEG-2 transport
stream. A source packetizer 7 packetizes the transport packets from
the multiplexer 8 into source packets in accordance with the
audio/video format of the optical disk. As shown in FIG. 6, the
operations of the AV encoder 9, the multiplexer 8 and the source
packetizer 7 are controlled by a controller 10. The controller 10
receives user input on the recording operation, and provides
control information to AV encoder 9, multiplexer 8 and the source
packetizer 7. For example, the controller 10 instructs the AV
encoder 9 on the type of encoding to perform, instructs the
multiplexer 8 on the transport stream to create, and instructs the
source packetizer 7 on the source packet format. The controller 10
further controls a drive 3 to record the output from the source
packetizer 7 on the optical disk.
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The controller 10 also creates the navigation and management
information for managing reproduction of the audio/video data being
recorded on the optical disk. For example, based on information
received via the user interface (e. g. , instruction set saved on disk,
provided over an intranet or internet by a computer system, etc.)
the controller 10 controls the drive 3 to record the data structure
of FIGs. 2-5 on the optical disk.
During reproduction, the controller 10 controls the drive 3
to reproduce this data structure. Based on the information contain
therein, as well as user, input received over the user interface
(e.g., control buttons on the recording and reproducing apparatus
or a remote associated with the apparatus), the controller 10
controls the drive 3 to reproduce the audio/video source packets
from the optical disk. For example, the user input may specify a
title, chapter, and/or path to reproduce. This user input may be
specified, for example, via a menu based graphical user interface
preprogrammed into the controller 10. Using the user input and the
title management information, chapter management information
and/or path management information reproduced from the optical disk,
the controller 10 controls the reproduction of the specified title,
chapter and/or path.
For example, to select a particular title, the controller 10
determines from the title entry table the number of titles and
requests the user to select one based on the number. As will be
appreciated, the general information file may be augmented to
contain more meaningful information (such as a title name) for the
titles recorded on the recording medium, and this information could
be provided to the user in conjunction with the title selection
request. Once a title is selected, the playlist file name for the
selected title is obtained from the title entry table and
reproduction according to the identified playlist is performed.
To select a particular chapter, the chapter entry flag for
each playitem is examined by the controller 10 to determine the
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number of chapters and the user is queried on which chapter to
reproduce. As with the title selection, the chapter management
information may be augmented to provide more meaningful information
regarding the chapters. Selection of a particular chapter is a
selection to begin reproduction at the associated playitem, and
reproduction begins with the associated playitem.
To select a particular path, the path numbers for each
playitem are examined by the controller 10 to determine the number
of reproduction paths, and the user is requested which path to
reproduce. As with the title and chapter selections, the path
management information may be augmented to provide more meaningful
information regarding the reproduction path to reproduce. During
reproduction, only those playitems having the selected path number
as one of their path numbers are reproduced.
The reproduced source packets are received by a source
depacketizer 4 and converted into a data stream (e.g., an MPEG-2
transport packet stream) . A demultiplexer 5 demultiplexes the data
stream into encoded video and audio data. An AV decoder 6 decodes
the encoded video and audio data to produce the original audio and
video data that was feed to the AV encoder 9. During reproduction,
the controller 10 controls the operation of the source depacketizer
4, demultiplexer 5 and AV decoder 6. The controller 10 receives user
input on the reproducing operation, and provides control
information to AV decoder 6, demultiplexer 5 and the source
packetizer 4. For example, the controller 10 instructs the AV
decoder 9 on the type of decoding to perform, instructs the
demultiplexer 5 on the transport stream to demultiplex, and
instructs the source depacketizer 4 on the source packet format.
While FIG. 6 has been described as a recording and reproducing
apparatus, it will be understood that only a recording or only a
reproducing apparatus may be provided using those portions of FIG.
6 providing the recording or reproducing function.
FIGs. 7-9 illustrate a second embodiment of the data structure
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according to the present invention. As shown in FIG. 7, the data
structure of the second embodiment is the same as the data structure
of the first embodiment, except for the chapter management
information. FIG. 7 illustrates that the chapter management
information indicates chapters through the use of chapter marks.
As with FIG. 2, FIG. 7 also represents the areas of the recording
medium, and FIG. 10 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of the
recording medium including these areas.
In this embodiment, the playlist files include the chapter
management information. FIG. 8 illustrates a portion of a playlist
file including the chapter management information according to this
embodiment. As shown, each playlist file includes a playlist mark
`PlayListsMark' information field. The playlist mark
`PlayListsMark' information field indicates a length of the
information , field and a number of the playlist marks
`number_of_PlayList_marks' in the playlist. For each playlist mark,
the playlist mark `PlayListsMark' information field indicates the
mark type `mark_type', the mark name length `mark name length', the
maker 'maker-ID', an indicator of the playitem on which the mark
is placed `ref_to_PlayItem_id', and a time stamp
`mark time stamp'.
The mark type indicates the type of mark. For example, when
a mark indicates the beginning of a chapter, the mark type
`mark type' identifies the associated mark as a chapter mark. The
maker identifier `maker ID' identifies the manufacturer of the mark.
The playitem indicator `ref_to_PlayItem id' indicates the
Playitem id value for a playitem on which the mark is placed. The
time stamp 'mark-time-stamp' of the mark indicates a point where
the mark is placed; namely, indicates a point on a time axis of the
A/V stream of clips (e.g., ATC and/or STC basis) where the mark is
placed. The `duration' indicates the length of the mark that starts
from the time stamp indicated by the 'mark - time-stamp'.
Because the playlist mark information field provides the
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chapter management information, the chapter entry flag
`Chapter_entry_flag' of the first embodiment is not required. FIG.
9 illustrates a portion of the playlist file showing that the
playitems of this embodiment do not include the chapter entry flag
'Chapter_entry_flag'. However, it will be understood that the
chapter entry flag 'Chapter_entry_flag' could be provided.
The recording and reproducing apparatus of Fig 6 operates in
the same manner with respect to the embodiment of FIGs. 7-9 as was
described above with respect to FIGs. 2-5. However, with respect
to the embodiment FIGs. 7-9, the chapter management information of
FIG. 8 is recorded and used during reproduction to selectively begin
reproduction at a particular chapter. Here, the controller 10
determines the number of chapters in a title based on the number
of playlist marks identified as chapter marks, queries the user to
select a chapter, and begins reproduction of the video data at the
point indicated by the time stamp associated with the chapter mark
of the selected chapter.
While the invention has been disclosed with respect to a
limited number of embodiment's, those skilled in the art, having the
benefit of this disclosure, will appreciate numerous modifications
and variations there from. For example, while described with
respect to a Blu-ray ROM optical disk, the present invention is not
limited to this standard of optical disk or to optical disks. It
is intended that all such modifications and variations fall within
the spirit and scope of the invention.
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